


When Shadows Grow Longer

by avarry



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Dark Magic, F/M, M/M, References to Supernatural (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-02
Updated: 2015-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-07 07:51:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4255308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avarry/pseuds/avarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The neon lights of the motel cast everything in red and Ariadne hates it all the more. She makes an effort to pull her hair back in a pony. It’s greasy and disgusting, probably still has vampire guts stuck to it. Can’t be helped.</p><p>---<br/>Dom calls Arthur and Eames for help with a Shade after him and his family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Shadows Grow Longer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shinealightonme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinealightonme/gifts).



> silly me uploaded the wrong version of the fic. It's correct now. Althouth I must warn you that this is unbeta-ed. All mistakes are mine. Should you find them, please send me a message.

Ariadne runs out of the motel room in a rush, grunting as she valiantly hefts the straps of her backpack on both shoulders _. “It’s fuck o’clock what the fuck is all the rush,”_ she mutters underneath her breath as she makes her way to the gravel parking lot out back. _“Fucking freezing too. Crazy Lunatic.”_

The neon lights of the motel cast everything in red and Ariadne hates it all the more. She makes an effort to pull her hair back in a pony. It’s greasy and disgusting, probably still has vampire guts stuck to it. Can’t be helped.

 

Arthur’s baby (a sleek black sedan with heated seats, how does he define this as inconspicuous!) is already running. As expected, he’s in his usual pristine self, all pressed pants and (Ariadne is betting) starched shirt. He probably took a bubble bath and has fresh underwear. Ariadne silently seethes. Next time they attack a nest, Ariadne isn’t going to go first. Hell, she won’t be in a hundred yards of the nest. Let Arthur do all the hacking while she stays warm and toasty behind her laptop. And if she’s feeling generous, she’ll even take care of all the victims they can still cure.

 

The warmth of the car soothes her nerves by a fraction. “You could have helped me, lazy ass,” Ariadne mutters as she gets on the passenger seat.

 

“My ass-,” Ariadne cuts him off by closing the door with a satisfying bang. Arthur sneers at her.

 

“Just drive.”

 

Arthur obliges her. “Pre-caffeinated you is a joy.”

 

“Inaccurate. Pre-caffienated, unbathed, dead-tired me is a joy.” Ariadne, slumps on her chair and hits play on her iPod. Arthur drives on, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. Behind them, the red neon lights of the motel room fade into the dark of the night.

  
Miles upon miles of the same fucking road later, when Ariadne is on the verge of heading back to Lala Land, the shrill voice of Rebecca Black shrieking about Friday cuts through the crescent of Zimmer’s Time. She startles and blindly gropes for the phone she stuffed in her pocket. She doesn’t need to check the caller ID to know who’s calling her because there is only one person who would mess with her precious phone. Beside her, Arthur just lets out a laugh.

“What the fuck did you do to my phone!” she shrieks once she hits the answer button.

“Hi Eames! It’s nice to hear from you this fine morning. How are you?” Eames’s accent is thick, his voice rough around the edges, barely keeping the laughter from his voice.

Ariadne huffs. “Annoying prick.”

“I think it’s an improvement from the Nicki Minaj don’t you?”

“You did that too asshat!” Beside him, Arthur snickers.  She whips her head at him and sneers. “ _Traitor!”_ she mouths at him.

“Now, now, darling, we don’t want the little cupcakes to hear such language.” Now that the ringing in her ears has stopped, she can hear the faint sounds of laughter from Eames’s end. Sussex then. Lucky bastard.

“Little devils you mean. How’s Bobby? Still alive I hope.” She remembers the faces of Dean and Sam, toothy grins and boundless energy.

“Ask them yourself.”

There’s a bit of commotion from the other end of the line before she hears the distinct voice of Sam, “Hi Ari! When are you coming back? Are you still busy? Are the vampires dead?”

And before she can answer, another voice interrupts. “Ari! Bobby won’t let me go with you!” Dean of course. Their voices warm her heart. They are still so little. And after seeing so much evil in this world, it’s a wonder that they can still sound so innocent.

“Of course he won’t dear. Can you put me on speakers?” She hears her voice echo from the other side.

“Hi Sam! Yes, the vampires are dead. We even cured these two young girls! And Dean, learn your Latin and maybe in a year.” There’s an excited whoop from the other line.

Eames cuts off the celebration with, “Ok darlings. That’s enough. Go and help Bobby fix the Impala.” There’s an excited round of cheers before everything quiets down.

There is the sound of a door opening and closing then the unmistakable whirring of computers. When next he speaks, all trace of playfulness has left Eames’s voice. “Do put me in speakers dear, bit of a situation here.”

Ariadne hits the speaker. Beside her, Arthur dons his calculating face.

“It’s Mal. Well… It’s Dom but it’s about Mal.”

“We’ll be there in two days. I’ll drop by the bunker first. We need supply and proper sleep In the meantime, keep him busy.” Arthur’s brows are scrunched in concentration and he’s pushed on the gas.

She says a farewell and ends the call.

“Who are they? Dom and Mal?” Arthur just stares on without acknowledging her, his jaws shut tight.

She breathes a sigh and pulls her laptop from the depths of her bag and starts researches for recent supernatural activities in Sussex. There will be no forthcoming answer when Arthur is like this. She hates this whole life Arthur and Eames have before her and the boys. She’s never privy to it. And she hates not knowing especially when it makes Eames drop his playfulness and makes Arthur all the more taut.

It’s a good while before Arthur speaks again with a whispered, “Friends.”

 

In the space of one bunker to another, she Sees.

There’s a man dressed in pristine black suit. He has a hauntingly beautiful woman in her arms. Her eyes are dead and she has blood on her lips. They dance and dance and dance. And then they don’t. The hauntingly beautiful woman looks at her and lets out a manic laugh. The man turns to look at her but he has no face.

She wakes after that, drenched in sweat and tears and snot. She breathes in and out. She hasn’t had accidental Sights in a long time. For a while now she’s had control of when she Sees and who she Sees. This man, whoever he is must be in grave danger. Whoever the man is he’s trapped by a shade.

Arthur, when he hurriedly opens the door to her room in the bunker, doesn’t ask but makes her an extra-large mug of hot chocolate. And since Arthur doesn’t ask, Ariadne doesn’t share.

It takes too long for them to get to the safe house in Sussex, another bunker made by the House of Letters marked only by a small unassuming country house and a wide, wide field of dandelions.

Ariadne enters the house while Arthur busies himself with parking the car.

When she enters the house, she is flocked by Sam and Dean and is questioned on both sides. “What took you so long?” Dean. “Are you feeling ok?” Sam. They’ve grown taller from when she last saw them. It makes her heart ache.

They drag her to the kitchen. Bobby is behind the stove, flipping pancakes and making a show two other children she doesn’t recognize.

“Did you give birth while we were gone?” is her greeting once she settles on a stool beside Sam.

“Introduce yourselves to this idjjit,” Bobby tells the two children.

“I’m Philippa,” the girl looks at her and then points to boy next to her, “and my brother James.”

Ariadne greets them with a warm, “Good morning. Just call me Ari. Don’t believe the old man, He’s senile” They laugh at that. Ariadne is sure they don’t know what she means. They beam at her and she feels warmth blooming in her chest. Two more strays.

“Why’s Arthur sad?” Sam asks. It’s sometimes disconcerting to realize how perceptive this kid is.

“Probably a new hunt.” Dean answers for her. And of course Dean would know.

Ariadne just gives them a reassuring smile and promises to play with them later on.

“They’re in the bunker.” Bobby hands her a stack of pancake. She ruffles Dean and Sam’s hair and spares another smile at James and Philippa before she leaves them to head underground to the bunker.

Dom, Ariadne finds out when she enters the bunker, is a handsome man in his 40’s with graying hair in his temples. She doesn’t greet him and he doesn’t acknowledge her. Handsome but a jerk. Definitely not worth her time.

She plops beside Eames who give her a one armed hug and a kiss on the forehead. When they don’t talk and take to ignoring each other, Ariadne does the same in favor of polishing half of the stack of pancakes.

When Arthur finally arrives, he goes straight to Dom and gives him a hug. She whips her head to Eames with a questioning look but he just shakes his head. Who is this Dom that Arthur hugs him before he hugs Eames!

“It’s been a while Dom,” is Arthur’s greeting once their man-hug ends. “Can’t say I’m happy to see you.” Well, that was interesting. Arthur goes to Eames and kisses his cheeks.

Ariadne watches Dom raise his eyebrows at them. She hates him already. “Can’t say I’m happy to be here either.” Dom replies. Old hunter then or maybe old men of letters. Ariadne doesn’t care.

“While this is all heartwarming and stuff,” Ariadne cuts them off, “I really want to take a long bath and sleep for three days, So, can we get on with it?”

Dom finally looks at her as if seeing her for the first time. His face proceeds from being surprised to being irritated in two seconds. He’s about to say something Ariadne is sure would give her the reason for her to knife him when Eames catches her arm and introduces her, “Dom, sorry about this shorty. She’s Ariadne and she’s part of the team.” Ariadne glares at the traitor.

Dom doesn’t seem to hear him as he looks at Arthur. Ariadne thinks he’s trying to guess if this is true. She’s not overly surprised with his doubts. She doesn’t really look like hunter material or men of letters material come to think of it. Still though, this asshat doesn’t have the right to judge her. She’s fucking amazing dammit. She glares at him. He stares right back at her.

“She has Sight,” Arthur answers Dom’s unspoken question, “And she’s capable.”

If it were anyone other than Arthur, she’d feel affronted but coming from him, that’s a mighty praise.

“Fine,” is Dom’s only reply. He stands up and moves to the long table in the room. He has his back to her and then it clicks. Ariadne has Seen him. She’s used her gift before but it’s always a shock when she finally meets the people she Sees.

She doesn’t wait for Dom to explain or to even talk. Instead, she closes her eyes and reaches deep down in her soul so she can See. It’s never really easy but with Arthur’s help and tutelage, she’s learned to access it whenever she needed it.

Her body turns cold and she opens her eyes. She enters the realm of the Seers and she Sees but maintains her contact on their dimension through the rough fabric of her jeans underneath her palms. The hauntingly beautiful woman from before is not with them, probably warded off by the sigils carved on the bunkers very foundation. Still, she sees a black string connected to Dom’s heart. It’s probably connected to the woman’s heart.

“There’s a shade on you.” She declares. Her voice echoes in both dimensions. Normally, if she tries to access, creatures are drawn to her. But here, in the safety of the bunker, she is free to reach and access the Sight.

She reaches further than the bunker and out of the house to try and find the woman. She’s right outside the door of the house and she’s looking straight at Ariadne. When the woman smiles at her, it sends a chill through her all the way to her toes. And then the woman starts chanting, “Dom is mine! Dom is mine!” It gets louder and louder until it’s the only thing Ariadne can hear, the only sound her heart is capable of beating. The dark grows colder and it grips her and makes her want to succumb to this shade.

She’s pulled back to her seat on the couch by arms tightening around her. She hears a loud ringing in the bunker. It takes a second too long to realize the sound is from her and that she’s been screaming. She immediately shuts her mouth but know she can hear the hammering of her heart. It rings in her ears to the beat of the shade’s chant. She breathes in and out. In and out. Everything is dark still. She feels hands covering her eyes, it explains the dark. The scent she smells is different from that of Arthur’s usual perfume or Eames’s aftershave. The smell is that of recycled air and stale tobacco and lilac, oddly enough.

She wriggles free from the embrace and looks up to find Dom looking at her with concern clearly written on the lines of his brow.

She takes another deep breath before she side-steps Dom to go upstairs. It may be rude but Ariadne just cannot deal with him right now. Not after seeing his shade of a wife right outside the door of their fucking safe house.

She finds Bobby at the top of the stairs, a jug of holy water on one hand and a shot gun on the other. “Keep the boys away from the door and the windows,” her voice cracks from her screamathon earlier but she tries to keep her shit together and not freak out Bobby. “And please check that all the sigils are still in place.” He doesn’t ask which makes him the best in Ariadn’es book. That being said, she marches back to the bunker.

The boys are already on the long table, a pile of documents and photos scattered between them. They all look up at her entrance but she ignores them in favor of grabbing the water bottle on the end table and chugging all of it.

She puts on her game face and goes to sit beside Arthur. No one speaks. They’re walking on eggshells around her. It’s the worst feeling. “How did you bring me back?” Ariadne nonchalantly throws at Dom’s way as she surveys the pictures strewn on the table. They’re pictures of the woman. Mal then.

“Mal had it too.” His voice is quiet when he speaks. It betrays no emotion and Ariadne is instantly impressed. If this man can keep that much love and loyalty and devotion and guilt under wraps he must’ve been a damn great hunter. And that woman, Mal, must’ve been powerful.

She puts down the picture before she looks at each one of them in the eye. “Well, Mal, I’m guessing she’s your late wife, has turned into a shade who has decided it’s oh so convenient to stand outside the door of the safe house.” She adds a smile for insult. “Oh, and she’s leeching your soul.” And because Ariadne doesn’t have a good heart, she adds, “And when you’re well and truly done for, dead and with her in the dark, she’ll attach herself to your children and feed on them until they die.” She’s aware that her voice is rising. She doesn’t give jack. “They’ll fade but not without suffering the pain of loss and the trauma of knowing that it’s your mother who’s-“

Dom slams his hands on the table. “Enough!”

It doesn’t startle Ariadne one bit. Instead, she looks into his eyes and slams her hand right back. Arthur and Eames have wisely kept their mouth shut. “No! She’s fucking waiting outside our doorstep. This is OUR HOME. Ours! And you’ve brought a demon right in our fucking house where two little boys live. SO YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME TO STOP!”

She does stop but not because he said so but because there is nothing left to say. At the moment anyway. Dom has grown rigid, ready to snap. Just then, Arthur stands and looks both of them in the eyes. “You will both stop behaving like your new to this and swallow whatever righteous anger you’ve had going on and you will both sit down like the mature and experienced hunters that you are.”

Ariadne huffs but obeys. No use going against Arthur. He always gets what he wants. She plops on the seat and crosses her arms. Arthur sits down too but Dom strides out the door. “Good riddance!” Ariadne wants to shout at his back but kept her mouth shut lest she incur Arthur’s wrath.

When the door of the bunker opens and closes, Arthur rounds on her. “Stop it Ariadne.”

Ariadne feels bewildered. “Am I the only one who thinks that this man bringing a shade with him is dangerous! For all of us! And no, she’s not just an ordinary shade, she has to have the fucking Sight for godssake.” She’s trying her best to keep her voice down. She may be mad but she’s not that much a bitch to push Dom to do something even more catastrophically stupid by letting him hear her. He probably knows anyway. No use rubbing salt on his wound.

It’s Eames who finally enlightens her. “Dom and Mal are not just friends, Ari. They’re Arthur’s mentors. They took him in way back then. This is his home. And Miles, the professor who saved you from the fire and introduced you to us, he’s Mal’s father.” That effectively shuts Ariadne up. There’s a retort forming in her belly that’s just dying to scramble out but she effectively gives it an untimely death. Let it not be said that she has the emotional maturity of a fetus.

“They came here because Dom knew he could trust us not to throw them out.” Arthur’s voice is patient now. It makes Ariadne calm down just a fraction. Not enough to accept Dom into her house, (It’s theirs now dammit.) but enough to look past the damn stupidness of the situation and look at the facts.

“Fine. What do you need me to do?”

 

In the grand scheme of things, what she needs to do is quite easy. Through her gift, she contacts Yusuf, the witch who has migrated on the other side of the world, to get the ingredients of the spell that would allow Mal to manifest in human form at least for a while. If Mal still possesses a human soul, the curse that rendered her into becoming a shade will be reversed, otherwise, Ariadne will have to kill her. (She volunteered.)

Arthur tries to keep Dom grounded. Ariadne does not understand their loyalty, both of Dom and Arthur. Everything reeks of guilt. But really, what does she know? She’s tried asking Eames on the handful of times he surfaces from the bunker but it was only rewarded with Eames’s dejected smile. She never dares to ask again.

 

She is not included in the midnight meetings between Eames, Arthur, and Dom. After getting the ingredients, Arthur takes over like he usually does. However, instead of her doing the incantations and the beheading and all the other work that requires movement, it’s Eames and Dom filling in. Ariadne would be lying if she says she doesn’t mind. But minding it and actively helping the shade who is still staring straight at her whenever she enters the other dimension, are two different things. And never the twain shall meet.

Bobby goes home, bringing Sam and Dean with him for safe keeping. Ariadne takes on the babysitting duties of James and Philippa. They’re about the only thing that makes her tolerate Dom.

They’re both stunning children with surprisingly polite manners. Where Sam and Dean are loud and rowdy, these children are prim and proper. It’s a definite change. Still, they’re energetic children with boundless energy. And if Dean and Sam wrestle each other, these children make pillow forts and draw and make countless artworks.

They know nothing about hunting and Dom wants to keep it that way. She doesn’t explicitly tell them about the monsters that go bump in the night but she regales them with stories while she makes pies in the kitchen.  

And in return, they tell her of their half-remembered mother and her sweet, melodious voice. Ariadne is not really thrilled about her but she lets the children talk about their mother as if she’s still alive. (Ariadne doesn’t have the heart to tell them that she’s dead and out to get them.)

“Do you think she’ll visit us soon?” James asks her after he watches her wash the dishes.

 Ariadne doesn’t reply buts gives both James and Philippa extra scoops of ice cream after that.

Ariadne doesn’t see her boys in the next two days. They’re in the bunker cooped up cooking something that is mostly unsafe and has the probability of setting someone on fire. She hopes it’s Dom.

It comes as a surprise to her when she sees Dom in the kitchen just after midnight. He’s dressed in his usual outfit of jeans and white shirt but his hair is in complete disarray from where he’s slumped on the counter. She skirts around him goes to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. She considers leaving him but takes pity on him.

When she tries to shake him though, he falls from his seat and on to the kitchen floor, unmoving, skin deathly pale.

His face is clammy and cold and for a brief moment, Ariadne considers panicking before she regains enough wits to check for pulse. There is faint beating when she checks. She arranges him on the floor and makes sure no airways are blocked.

She calls for Eames and Arthur then because no matter how badass she thinks she is, she doesn’t have half the experience that they have.

“Arthur! Eames!”

Arthur is the first to arrive, shotgun in hand and knife in the other. He scrambles to get to Dom. Eames follows soon after him. He leaves right after, presumably to check the kids. Wise choice really.

“What happened?” Arthur’s voice is still composed, not betraying the panic that Ariadne knows he’s feeling.

“I have no fucking clue. I just saw him slumped on the table. When I tried to wake him, he just fell on the floor.” There’s a coldness to Dom’s skin that isn’t natural, even for someone who passed away. Ariadne knows what she has to do but she’s fucking scared to do it. Arthur is still trying to wake Dom up. They both know he really won’t wake. Not like that anyway.

“Arthur,” she reaches for his arm, stilling it in its movement. “His soul isn’t here anymore.” Arthur looks at her blankly. “I need to go find him. I need to-“

“It might be dangerous. You don’t know what’s out there!” His voice is steadily rising. He grips his arms until her knuckles turn white.

“We both know what’s out there. We both know it’s dangerous. But we’re always in danger and we’re always on the brink of death with our line of work. But Dom. Well, I hate him but. The kids. I can do this.”

Eames comes back to the kitchen.

“The kids are alright. They’re both asleep.”

He looks at Ariadne and deathly grip on Arthur’s arms and nods. Always the perceptive one. Without any effort, he carries Dom to the bunker and lays him on the long table. Both Ariadne and Arthur closely at his heels.

Arthur starts writing sigils on the table and on the floor with anointed oil and salt. Eames starts lighting up candles all around them.

Ariadne just keeps breathing even breaths. In and out. In and out.

It doesn’t take Arthur long to finish whatever he’s doing. The sigils aren’t really important but it’s something that makes Arthur feel safe.

“I need you to make sure that the kids are safe. Go and look after them.” She hears the calmness in her voice and it sounds alien to the pounding of her heart.

Arthur jerks a nod at her before leaving the bunker. He’ll be fretting outside the door but Ariadne needs to be alone if she wants to do this. Eames squeezes her shoulder before he leaves too. He can keep him calm enough not to do anything stupid.

When the door of the bunker closes, she climbs on the long table and sits on the space above Dom’s head. She crosses her legs and rests her hands on her knees. She closes her eyes and feels the thin line between this reality and the next. It’s cold. (Colder even than the bunker which in Ariadne’s opinion is pretty fucking cold already.) And quiet. Quiet on this side is never a good thing. Out of nowhere she hears the sound of laughter. Not the scary cackle witches sometimes make or the annoying booming sound that Eames sometimes lets out. The laughter is melodious and innocent and definitely in love.

She walks around and in the distance sees a beautiful woman with dark hair cascading behind her. She also sees Dom, looking at this mysterious beautiful woman. Immediately, Ariadne knows this is Mal. Or at least a part of her. She runs the distance before jerking Dom’s arm. He startles and looks at her.

“It’s time to go Dom.” But Dom doesn’t move, he just stares at her in confusion.

“No Dom, you don’t have to go anywhere.” Mal’s voice is thick with an accent Ariadne can’t place. Still her voice can be quite lovely if it didn’t send chills up and down Ariadne’s spine.

Ariadne turns to look at her and sees a stunning woman with fierce eyes and blood-red lips. Her eyes are now trained on Ariadne and if Ariadne was a lesser hunter, she would have flinched are ran on the opposite direction. As it is, she’s faced enemies scarier than her.

“She doesn’t belong here. She doesn’t belong with you.” Ariadne’s voice echoes in the darkness.

Mal’s reply is to laugh at her. “What do you know about belonging to someone? What do you know about being a part of a whole?”

Ariadne’s insides tremble at Mal’s voice. She has half a mind to just leave Dom behind to this shade. But she remembers Philippa and James and their eternal smiles and warm laughter. It gives her the resolve she needs to stand her ground.

“You’re not a part of that whole too. You’re not even real. Not in the reality where Dom is.” She grabs Dom and runs to the edge of reality, shrieks of Mal reverberating at their wake. Dom calls for her but doesn’t resist when Ariadne drags him.

Ariadne’s first intake of breath comes like a shot to her lungs. It twists and burns but she has no time to worry about that because Dom is coughing and hacking.

Arthur and Eames are instantly there, Arthur helping Dom to sit up and Eames checking her for bruises and wounds. He starts chanting Latin exorcism and sprays her with holy water. It’s routine and she lets it breeze by.

When Arthur and Eames are both satisfied and Dom has finally caught his breath, she turns to Dom. “You have to stop with this.”

“What are you talking about?” Arthur tries to grab her arm but she shrugs him off.

“You’re the one feeding her. I don’t know what your deal is. Frankly, I don’t care. But get your shit together and stop endangering all of us.” She leaves right after, making sure that the door bangs behind her.

She goes straight to the room where the children are sleeping. She watches over them for a while before she sits down, careful not to wake them.

Dom stands by the door of the room. He doesn’t speak and Ariadne is not inclined to talk to him as well.

“I’m not suicidal. I’m not trying to die.”

Ariadne doesn’t answer. There is piece of the puzzle she hasn’t yet seen. This isn’t just about Mal being a shade and Mal attacking them. It’s isn’t really about Mal at all.

“Ariadne.” That’s a first. Dom never talks to her directly. They’ve been civil so far but aside from the first time she confronted him and just after their little walk in death, they haven’t really talked.

“They’re wonderful children. Polite. And just. They’re wonderful.” She says instead.

Dom doesn’t answer right away. “Mal taught them all they know. She was the one who was always with them. She was really good to us.”

Ariadne wants to scoff or laugh outright really. But she has more tact than that. Most of the time.

“She must have been because you still can’t forget her.” And that’s the heart of the matter. It’s Dom who can’t forget.

Finally, she looks up to him. “What happened Dom? Why can’t you forget?”

Dom stands there. He doesn’t answer. Ariadne doesn’t expect him too. She stands up and leaves.

Arthur and Eames are waiting for her in the kitchen. Her mug (green with purple stripes) is filled with steaming tea just the way she likes it (splash of milk and two cubes of sugar). She sits between them and drinks it. They don’t ask her questions and she appreciates that they don’t push.

When it’s just dregs left at the bottom of her mug, she starts talking.

“Shades, they aren’t really powerful. Not like that.” Arthur hums in agreement. “At first, I thought maybe she’s so strong that she can follow Dom and kids everywhere is because she’s a Seer. But just now, I just. I saw them. It’s not Mal. It’s not the shade that’s powerful. It’s Dom.”

“What do you mean?” Eames nudges her.

She doesn’t know.

 

Miles drops by the next day. He picks up the kids to go off and “Visit grandma for a few days.” They all know why they can’t have the children at the bunker.

“Take care of him,” Miles tells him before he leaves. “Mal. She’s passed on. She’s not supposed to-“

“I’ll help him,” is what Ariadne tells him. She can’t really take care of Dom. It’s not her place. That’s what Arthur is for. She’s just here to help them.

Miles gives him a hug before he leaves. She gives James and Philippa a kiss and a promise to play with them and eat ice cream with them next time.

The house and the bunker go quiet after that. The silence is filled with the final preparation for the casting that will bring Mal back to them.

And after a day and half after the children fly off to the other side of the world, they start the ritual. They’re in the abandoned house at the end of the street from their safe house.  

Arthur casts the spell. It will tear the boundaries between this realm and the next just enough to call for Mal. Whatever comes back with her, well Eames is ready to send them back to death.

It’s Dom who call for Mal and she arrivers. She still has the beautiful wavy hair cascading behind her, still the same fierce eyes and blood-red lips.

“Mal.” Dom sounds wrecked upon seeing her. Ariadne just wants to shoot her in the face.

“Dom,” her voice is sweet like honey, or thick acid.

“Enough.” Mal’s move to her. “Let Dom go.”

She lets out a laugh after that. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.” She turns around and looks at Arthur.

“Is this what you’ve replaced me with? She’s just a child.” Ariadne just finds more reasons to stab her in the face before shooting her for good measure.

Arthur doesn’t speak. He can’t even look her in the eye. In the face of this… this creature, he’s just like a child. Ariadne doesn’t understand what’s happened to him. Eames is rooted to the spot. Unable to look away but unable to do something too. Mal laughs and sends them both flying out the door.

Dom lies on the ground, looking up at Mal with awe in his eyes.

Ariadne has had enough.

“It’s me you’re talking to. Let him go.” Ariadne spits at her.

Mal turns back to her. The playfulness in her voice has gone when she speaks. “And I told you that it’s not me who’s holding on. Oh no dear, it’s Dom.” She crouches beside him and caresses his cheeks. “We’re part of a whole and you can’t separate us.”

Ariadne shoots her in the face. It doesn’t really kill her but it makes her stumble a step. Ariadne wastes no time in pulling Dom to her side.

“Dom. You have to fight this. You have to think of Philippa and James. You have to think of them.” Dom looks at her. The haze in his eyes lifts a fraction. In its place is guilt so strong it makes her reel.

The pieces fall into place.

“You did this.” She looks at him in disbelief. “You called her back. She’s crossed over and you called her back.”

“I- I didn’t know.” Dom’s voice is a whisper. Behind them, Mal laughs her melodious laugh.

“I told you. We’re halves of a whole. We are made to be together. Forever.”

“Why Dom? Why’d you do it? How can you do it to James and Philippa! How can you!” Ariadne shakes him because she can’t understand how he can do this to himself and his children.

Dom just wriggles free of her and goes to Mal. Ariadne watches as he cups her face and looks into her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I’m so sorry Mal.” Mal startles at that.

“I was the one who got you killed. I didn’t that demon was still tracking us. I’m so sorry. I couldn’t get you out the house and I couldn’t save you.” Dom envelopes her in an embrace. They’re in their own little world now.

“But you said you killed him. You said you sent him back to hell.” Mal replies. “But it doesn’t matter. You can make amends now if you go with me. Just return to death with me.” Mal hugs Dom back, the black swirl of death engulfing them both.

“Dom! You have to fight this. It’s not your fault she died. It’s that demon. You have to end this. You have to let her go!” Ariadne shouts but she doubts they could hear her. Not with the dark smoke that fills the room. It’s pungent smell makes her gag.

“I love you.” Ariadne hears it and it breaks her heart. It breaks her heart because this is the end of Dom. And maybe this is the end of her too, in this bunker

“I love you but I can’t be with you. You’ve always been my rock and I will always love you but I can’t tie you to this earth anymore. I can’t let you be a shade of what you once were. You were so bright and beautiful and I can’t drag you anymore. I love you but I have to let you go.”

Ariadne feels the tears fall from her eyes. She hears Mal’s gasp of pain. She isn’t sure what has happened but then there is a bright light and then silence.

When the light clears, Dom is crumpled on the ground. Ariadne scramble to get to him. He’s unconscious but breathing. Relief floods Ariadne and she crumples on the ground right next to Dom.

Arthur and Eames face come into view. They look quite beaten but otherwise fine. Now that Ariadne has time to notice, Arthur looks like he’s reapplied hair gel and has washed his face. Ariadne lets out a laugh at that. 

“What happened? Are you alright? Where’s Mal?” And of course, at the face of her laughter, Arthur does the wise thing and panics.

When she’s caught her breath, she sits up and lets Eames do his things with checking for her. “I have no fucking clue as to what happened. You’d have to ask him,” she pats Dom, “for the details.”

Eames grunts and lifts Dom. Ariadne lets them leave while she stays seated on the ground, trying to catch her breath and calm her frazzled nerves. A light pretty much like the light from Mal’s demise fills the room. And then there’s a ringing in her ears. The sound is deafening and she’s pretty sure her ears are bleeding but she can’t spare a thought for that as she tries to shield her eyes lest she goes blind. It takes a second too long for everything to clear. Her ears still hurt but the light isn’t threatening to blind her anymore. She squints and what she sees gives her pause. Standing in front of her is a stranger with fire-red hair and the kindest smile she has ever seen.

“Ariadne, you did well.” The stranger reaches out a hand. Ariadne tries to stay away from her but is unable to move. The stranger just smiles again and reaches out to her once more. She places her hand on Ariadne’s arm. At her touch, Ariadne feels warmth travel from her arm to every part of her body. She feels the aches leave her body and all the broken skin stitch back together.

“I am Anna and I am an angel of the Lord and I’m here to tell you that Mallory now rests in heaven. You do not have to worry about her anymore.” Ariadne just looks at this stranger dumbfounded. Angels do not exist.

“Angels don’t exist.” The stranger, _Anna_ , just give her a patient smile. Ariadne suddenly feels like a toddler being patronized.

“Take care of yourself Ariadne. You would need your strength if you are going to help Dom defeat the ancient evil that follows him still.” Anna doesn’t address her concern. Still, Ariadne doesn’t believe in her existence so… fair enough.

“I’m not going to be his babysitter or his fu-freaking sidekick if that’s what you mean.” Angel or not, Ariadne still feels a little ashamed of cursing in front of _Anna_.

“Of course not. Do take care. If you need me, pray. I’ll answer.” With one last smile she disappears. Ariadne is left feeling like she’s just been played by a trickster.

 

Ariadne doesn’t immediately tell Arthur and Eames. She takes a long bath first. When she feels human enough for company, she tells them all she knows. It isn’t much but it definitely is more than what they know.

By the end of it, Arthur and Eames both know they’d go with Dom to take down the demon that killed Mal. The only question is if she’s going with them. The truth of the matter is, she may love her boys but hunting with a new person, no matter that she’s saved him and he may have saved her, is just something she doesn’t do. At all.

“We won’t pressure you darling.” Eames assures her right before they leave to pick up Dean and Sam. “We’d want you with us but you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

Ariadne doesn’t really think she has much of a choice. She can’t really leave her boys behind. Besides, what with the whole angel of the lord debacle, she’s not sure if she even has a choice. Still, she thinks about it, pretty sure she already knows what she’s going to do about it.

 

It takes two days for Dom to finally wake up. Ariadne is the only one at home because that’s just how her luck works.

They don’t talk but Ariadne prepares him breakfast and checks his wounds.

“I’m sorry.” Dom breaks the silence as she dabs antiseptic to his arm.

“I don’t need it.” There is no bite, no heat when she says it. In fact, Ariadne is sure she means it.

“Still-“ Ariadne sighs and holds up her hand to stop him.

“Do you want to braid each other’s hair too?” Dom looks at her as if he’s ready for a lecture. Ariadne raises both of her hands to placate him. “Look, can we not talking about your feelings? Or anyone’s feelings at all. I’m not nearly drunk enough for that. I don’t think I’m ever going to be drunk enough to talk to you about feelings” Dom doesn’t look happy. His happiness was never her priority. “What we need to talk about now is what you plan to do now.”

“Hunt.” Ariadne looks at him. There is resolve in his eyes, passion where only death was before. Suddenly, she understands how this man inspired Arthur’s loyalty and Eames’s respect. It’s beautiful how his face lights up with righteous fury as if smiting is his very purpose of living. “I’ll hunt that demon down and make sure he pays for what he did.” Ariadne doesn’t need to know who _that_ demon is. She’s pretty sure she’s got that covered.

“That’s the spirit!”

Dom looks at her as if he’s seeing her for the first time, then his lips curves into a smile.

“When do we start?”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I tried really hard to achieve a darker avenue of the Inception and the many ways it could have gone but my brain snapped and gave me a Supernatural AU fused with Three Kingdom Trilogy instead. I apologize if it's not something you like. Also, I know you said you only picture Dom with Mal but I just couldn't help but throw in Ariadne/Dom. I swear it's not prominent. I think. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
